The present invention relates generally to orthopedic positioning devices and more particularly to devices and methods for supporting an arm, wrist and hand before, during or after a surgical, rehabilitative or imaging procedure.
Surgical procedures on the extremities of humans occur with great frequency, and particularly surgeries on the arm, wrist and hand. Injuries to a person's arm, wrist and hand come frequently from sports injuries, falls, reaching to catch one's self, slipping or landing on an arm, wrist or hand, and attempting to brace oneself in response to a fall resulting in fractured bones in the forearm, wrist and/or hand.
During the course of some procedures to repair injury to the arm, wrist and/or hand, a patient's arm may be placed in a supine suspended orientation to reduce a fracture or distract the hand, wrist or forearm. Additionally, this position may provide a desired orientation of the hand, wrist or forearm for a procedure. In this position, a patient's fingers or wrist may be suspended vertically by an overhead support structure including one or more straps, finger traps or anchors extending downwardly and engaging the patient. In this configuration, a patient's arm, wrist or hand may be subjected to vertical traction forces to provide proper positioning for a surgical procedure or rehabilitation.
Others have attempted to provide devices for supporting a patient's arm, wrist and/or hand in a supine suspended position for a surgical or rehabilitative procedure. Conventional devices commonly include an upright pole from which one or more traction attachments for supporting the arm, wrist or hand are suspended. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,771,378 teaches an orthopedic traction tower system.
Conventional devices of this type are configured only for application of distraction forces on a hand or wrist and lack interchangeability with other modular support components for positioning of the arm, wrist and hand in different orientations for other operations. Additionally, conventional support devices are not configured to receive modular attachments for applying counter-traction forces. This leads to a requirement that a surgeon must have numerous independent positioner devices for performing different types of procedures on the hand, wrist, forearm and elbow. This leads to additional cost and clutter associated with numerous positioner devices for different patient orientations and procedures. Thus, there is a continuing need in the art for improvements in devices and methods for supporting an arm for such purposes, and particularly to universal positioner devices for allowing physicians to interchange modular attachments to achieve various patient orientations with a single system.
What is needed, then are improvements in devices and methods for supporting and distracting a patient's arm, hand, elbow and/or wrist during a surgical or rehabilitative procedure.